Floods in the Midwest have caused severe damage, collapsing a bridge, weakening a dam and forcing the evacuation of a city.
Nearly 3 million people in Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota and Nebraska have been affected.
In the border region of Iowa and South Dakota, destruction from the record flooding was “severe and widespread,” Iowa’s governor said. Kim Reynolds. At least one person in Iowa and one person in South Dakota have died.
“Flood impacts will continue” in parts of Iowa and South Dakota, “but the likelihood of additional rainfall over the next two to three days is low,” the National Weather Service said in an update Monday afternoon.
Iowa
In Clay County, Iowa, the sheriff’s office confirmed that one person drowned this weekend as a result of the flooding.
Spencer — a city of more than 11,000 residents and the county seat of Clay County — was cut off from the rest of the state by flooding. Hundreds were evacuated to shelters and 383 rescues were made, Spencer Fire Chief Jesse Coulson said.
Nate Gastelum, 20, said he was at home with his roommate in Spencer when they realized they had to flee.
“We started on the street and ended up at the back of the house because we had to keep backing up,” Gastelum said. “There was just this eerie feeling, and me and my roommate said, ‘Yes, we have to go.'”
Gastelum said his basement was flooded and his home would not be habitable for a while.
“But that’s nothing compared to what happened to other people around us,” he said. “On the south side of the city, those houses have been almost completely destroyed.”
Gastelum described collapsed houses in the city, cars flooded or floating through the streets and massive power outages. People trapped in their homes had to jump onto boats from upper floors to escape, Gastelum said.
Still, he said, the city has come together to help those most affected.
“The best thing about this city is that everyone who is not very affected is opening their doors to as many people as possible,” he said. “Like my mother, she took in eleven people and a few dogs because their house was completely destroyed.”
“I had my truck and I was helping families get to safe zones in my truck bed,” Gastelum said.
Reynolds visited several areas in northwest Iowa on Monday. She issued a disaster proclamation for one province and an emergency proclamation for five others.
“In almost every affected community, the river crested several feet above record levels from the 1993 flood,” Reynolds said at a news conference Sunday.
Sioux City’s fire chief called the flooding “unprecedented” and said it is difficult to predict what will happen given the area’s lack of experience with devastation of this magnitude.
“No one has ever experienced this much rainfall and this much water,” said Fire Marshal Mark Aesoph, noting that the evacuation area will continue to grow as water continues to rise within a temporary levee built to control flooding.
A flood warning remains in effect for parts of northwest Iowa until 1 p.m. Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
South Dakota
A railroad bridge connecting Sioux City, Iowa, to North Sioux City, South Dakota, collapsed Sunday night and fell into the Big Sioux River.
One person in South Dakota died after driving a utility vehicle that went off an embankment created by a washed-out roadway, according to the South Dakota Highway Patrol.
Governor Kristi Noem urged people to consider their safety and that of their families as “of paramount importance” and reminded them to stay out of the floodwaters.
“We lost one life during this entire incident,” Noem said. “And so the perspective of how dangerous this is becomes very real for that family.”
Noem warned that the coming days would be “tough” and that the impact of the flood’s devastation on the state would be felt for months to come.
“Just in case we needed a reminder of the destructive nature of water,” Noem said at a news conference Monday, “we’re seeing it in real time today.”
Southeast South Dakota is under a flood warning until 1 p.m. Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Minnesota
In south-central Minnesota, a dam near Rapidan is in danger of failing due to structural damage caused by the flooding. Still, it remains functional for now, and local authorities say there is no plan for a “mass evacuation” as they continue to monitor the situation.
The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning for areas downstream of the Rapidan Dam along the Blue Earth River until 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. The agency instructed those in low-lying areas below the dam to immediately move to higher ground.
The rest of southern Minnesota remains under a flood warning through Tuesday, with some southwestern parts under a flood warning.
CORRECTION (June 24, 2024, 10:28 PM ET): An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of a resident of Spencer, Iowa. He’s Nate Gastelum, not Gatelum.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
